Alan MacLeod

Alan MacLeod

Alan MacLeod is a member of the Glasgow University Media Group. His latest book is, "Bad News From Venezuela: 20 Years of Fake News and Misreporting." Follow him on Twitter: @AlanRMacLeod

Articles by this author

Former president Barack Obama, whose moderate vice president Joe Biden is now in the race, recently decried the alleged “purity tests” he saw on the left. (Photo: Shutterstock) Views
Wednesday, May 15, 2019
For Democrats, So-Called ‘Purity Tests’ Can Be a Good Thing
The Democratic primaries are heating up. One notable feature of the race is the strong presence of progressive candidates — which has many in the establishment wing of the party worried. Former president Barack Obama, whose moderate vice president Joe Biden is now in the race, recently decried the...
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AP photograph of a coup supporter in front of a burning bus. (Photo: Fernando Llano) Views
Thursday, May 02, 2019
Venezuela: It’s Only a Coup if the US Government Says So
It’s Groundhog Day again in Venezuela, as the local conservative opposition has launched another attempt to oust President Nicolás Maduro from power. Surrounded by a few hardcore supporters, Washington-backed self-appointed president Juan Guaidó on April 30 called on the military to rise up and...
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Detail from a recent cartoon attached to a Wall Street Journal column warning against Medicare for All. Views
Monday, April 29, 2019
Corporate Media Are Here to Warn You: Medicare for All Is a Very Bad Idea
The race for the Democratic presidential nomination is heating up, and healthcare is a key issue up for debate. A number of high-profile candidates, including Kamala Harris, Tulsi Gabbard and Elizabeth Warren, have endorsed a Medicare for All solution to America’s healthcare problem. However, the...
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It is often made explicit that “purity test” is merely code for the Democratic base wanting more leftist policies, and being disgruntled with politicians who block them. (Photo: Screenshot) Views
Thursday, April 18, 2019
‘Purity Tests’: How Corporate Media Describe Progressives Standing Up for Principles
The Democratic primaries are heating up, and dozens of candidates representing all manner of political positions have entered the ring hoping to be the party’s 2020 presidential nominee. One notable feature of the race is the strong presence of progressive candidates, a sign of the rising influence...
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The homeless 8-year-old chess champion is a prime example of a fast-growing sub-genre of unintentionally horrifying stories that are meant to uplift the reader, but instead highlight the hellish nightmare much of the country lives in. (Photo: Screenshot) Views
Wednesday, March 27, 2019
The Homeless 8-Year-Old Chess Champion and Other Horrific ‘Uplifting’ Stories
There’s a certain genre of light-hearted human-interest stories that are common across most news platforms. Soft news, such as an autistic Arkansas teen winning a basketball scholarship ( NBC , 11/29/18 ), a Tampa Bay area photographer helping animals get adopted ( ABC Action News , 3/20/19 ) or an...
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Views
Saturday, March 23, 2019
Everyone Washington Supports, by Definition, Is a Moderate Centrist
he Trump administration seems to have found their man in National Assembly leader and self-appointed president of Venezuela Juan Guaidó. Guaidó has been extremely attentive to US interests, promising to allow US oil companies to increase their activity in Venezuela. He has also pledged mass...
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The political right is uniting with establishment Democrats in denouncing presidential hopeful Bernie Sanders for his supposedly pro-dictatorship stance on Venezuela. And the media are piling on.(Photo: ABC/Screengrab) Views
Tuesday, March 05, 2019
Venezuela-Baiting: How Media Keep Anti-Imperialist Dissent in Check
Corporate media have always attacked leftists for their positions on Venezuela, a country consistently demonized and misrepresented in the US press ( FAIR.org , 6/1/02 , 11/1/05 , 4/1/13 , 2/22/19 ). But with President Donald Trump’s latest tightening of sanctions, and signs of a build-up to a long...
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A recent local poll shows that 86 percent of Venezuelans oppose military intervention, while 81 percent already disagree with the current US sanctions. (Photo: Screenshot) Views
Friday, February 01, 2019
The ‘Venezuelan People’ Are Whoever Agrees With Donald Trump
The latest bizarre episode in the Trump presidency is currently playing out in Venezuela. Just weeks after President Nicolás Maduro’s inauguration, Trump officially recognized Juan Guaidó, the 35-year-old head of the National Assembly—a man who has never even run for president—as the rightful head...
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Seventy-five per cent of the US public supports Medicare for all, including nearly two-thirds of Republicans. (Photo: Screenshot) Views
Wednesday, January 23, 2019
Ocasio-Cortez Rattles Pundits Across the Corporate Media Spectrum
Few freshman members of Congress cause as much of a stir as Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez has. Articles about her are consistently the best-performing on right-wing news sites. The charismatic 29-year-old Bronx native has seriously ruffled the feathers of conservatives, unused to debating a Democrat...
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There is similar mistrust of Facebook, with only 20 percent of Americans agreeing social media sites do a good job separating fact from fiction. (Photo: FAIR) Views
Tuesday, September 25, 2018
Facebook’s New Propaganda Partners
Media giant Facebook recently announced ( Reuters , 9/19/18 ) it would combat “fake news” by partnering with two propaganda organizations founded and funded by the US government: the National Democratic Institute (NDI) and the International Republican Institute (IRI). The social media platform was...
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